Outside the Run
by BlackWolfHowling
Summary: Meet Lydia. She does the occasional Run because it pays reasonably well and puts her myriad of blades to good use. But her true love and way of living is as a thief. Join her as she breaks into a house and steals some of the owner's valuables. This is more a character study than anything else, as I needed something to help me try and get into the head of my Shadowrun character.


The night was clear and cool. Everyone who felt special (and in this part of town, _everyone_ was 'special') was out clubbing, or partying, or doing other activities that had them out of the house. In other words, it was the perfect night for a thief.

Doing Runs is a side activity. Has been from my first Run, and will be on my last one. This. This is what I do for a living. It's what I was raised to do, and what I'm good at. Runs just... take advantage of my skills.

I'd chosen my house well. The inhabitants are never inside after sunset, and never return before sunrise. I don't know what they do, and frankly, I don't care. All I care about, is that they have valuables. And I'm going to take them. I'd spent the past few nights studying them. They were rich enough to have things worth stealing, but not so wealthy that they could afford the more advanced security systems. I can get past those easily, but this would be an easier house to get into.

My grandfather was a thief, too. He taught my mother everything she knows, and she and my father taught me everything I know. My family has been thieves for several generations, all of us good at what we did. Those that weren't... we don't talk about them.

I knew that no one was home. The lights were all off, and the house was silent. But only careless thieves trust initial glances. Crouching in my hiding place, I made _sure_ no one was around, looking carefully at every detail. Once I was certain that no one was around to see me, I moved, making sure to stay light on my feat, a thing that had never been a challenge. Even as a child I had always had catlike agility and grace.

Getting to the door took no time at all, and I already had my lockpicks in hand when I reached it. It was a newer lock, but still a lock of the kind that I had been picking since I was a child. It came unlocked with a quiet but satisfying click, and I entered the house immediately.

I always felt a rush when I was breaking into a house. My senses were on high alert and I made sure to notice every detail possible. The smallest mistake could cost me.

One of these people was a pack rat. Maybe even both of them. I could barely move without running into something. The state of the place was enough to make me mutter a low oath. I hate pack rats. The clutter meant that it was harder for me to make my way silently through the house. Picking my way carefully through it, I worked towards the bedroom. The wife, at least, would probably have something worth stealing there.

It was the smallest of sensations. A vase was too close to the door and my arm barely brushed it. With all the clutter around it, it had been poorly placed. It fell towards the ground. Quickly throwing out my arm, I caught the vase deftly before it hit the ground, thanking whatever mystical being that was paying attention that I had amazing reflexes. Bringing the vase up to eye level, I studied it. I didn't have a bag large enough to hold it tonight, but perhaps it would be worth stealing another night. I grimaced in distaste after only a few moments of study. It was cheap. I'd be lucky if I got twenty Nuyen for it. Placing it carefully back onto the small table it was placed on, I made my way into the bedroom.

The wife's jewelry was easy to find. Scanning it, I saw that she spent a good deal of Nuyen on it. One of the first things I was taught was to never take things that were too cheap or too expensive. If they were too cheap, I'd never get a good turnover for it, making it a waste of my skill; too expensive, and it would be missed much more easily.

I spotted a few pieces that fit what I needed perfectly. Cheap enough that, especially with the rest of the clutter in this jewelry box, it wouldn't be missed immediately, but not so cheap that I couldn't get at least a couple hundred Nuyen for them. This woman had poor taste. All of her jewelry was gaudy, the type that you only wear because you want to be seen. From what I had seen of her when I was studying the movements of these people, she had other pieces just like the ones I had pocketed. Returning the box to where I had found it, I moved on to other things.

The husband didn't have much worth stealing, but going through his things I found an interesting piece of paper. Columns of names and numbers, along with other notes on who these people were. I knew what this was. This was a blackmail list. I couldn't stop the smile from appearing. With the information that this man had on these people, and the numbers next to them, I could get a high price for this list. It was risky. Something like this would be missed immediately. They would know that I was there. But this was a rare instance where the gain was worth the risk. It's been my experience that blackmail lists aren't mentioned to the authorities, and when they are they're listed as 'important documents.' I was counting on these people trying to discover what else I had taken, and with this much clutter, that would be some time.

It was almost a pity I wasn't on a run. I know more than one decker that could simply take a picture of this list. I even know a few thieves that have technology installed into them. That was never an option for me. Not only have I never trusted technology to not be easily traced, but the one time I had tried to have an implant installed at the instance of a decker, I was too sick to do the Run. Apparently implants just don't agree with me. Folding the list carefully, I placed it with the jewelry I had pocketed.

Looking through the rest of the house quickly but thoroughly, I discovered that there was nothing else worth stealing. Pity. I had hoped that there would be more that I could take. Walking quickly but carefully to the door, I exited the house, placing the lock back onto the door so that they wouldn't be immediately suspicious of an intruder.

Moving quickly but quietly, I made my way out of the yard and back to my hiding place from earlier. A quiet sound nearby me alerted my attention to the security camera that had just turned on. An interesting time for it to activate, but I had seen odder things. Glancing at it, I saw that it was designed to detect thermal signatures as well. Not for the first time, I was glad I had spent the money for my chameleon suit and added thermal dampening to it. They weren't exactly _legal_, but I wasn't worried about that.

A few minutes of waiting were all I needed before the camera turned away from me. Taking the provided window of opportunity, I stole out of my hiding place, making sure to walk casually so as not to draw the attention of the few people out in the street.

I didn't waste any time selling the items I had stolen to a person that I knew had no issues with turning a blind eye to my particular brand of patronage. Another early lesson of thieving that I was taught, never hold onto what you steal. As I had suspected, the jewelry had a turnover of two hundred Nuyen. The blackmail list was far more interesting. I had carefully studied this list. Some of the names had money amounts in the several thousands. I wasn't going to let it go for a paltry sum. I walked away with a little over ten thousand Nuyen. Not a bad night.

I had almost made it home when I spotted someone waiting for me. Changing directions, I walked over to him and stopped a few feet away.

"Lydia, glad you're here. Get your blades ready. I have a Run for you."

_AN: So Lydia is the first and so far only Shadowrun character I've ever made. I'm completely new to this game, and am having a hard time getting to know this character. So I wrote a short story of what she does for a living when she's not on Runs. I know approximately nothing about the world, and I'm sure it shows in the lack of detail in the story. Still, I hope it doesn't suck too terribly._


End file.
